18 Aug 2020

Trump's 'big surge', Brownlee's 'favourable media' claims questioned at Parliament

From Checkpoint, 5:17 pm on 18 August 2020

New Zealand's pandemic response has been called out by none other than US president Donald Trump in a bizarre speech.

Speaking in Minnesota, the leader of the free world described the South Auckland outbreak as "a big surge".

The 'big surge' - to which Donald Trump refers - numbers 70 cases to date. 

Yesterday alone, the United States recorded nearly 42,000 new cases of Covid-19.

But it's not so much "whoops" they're saying here as "what?" The attention elicited bewilderment from government parties.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says there is no comparison to be made. But Opposition leader Judith Collins wasn't keen to weigh in. 

Also at Parliament on Tuesday it was Gerry Brownlee's statements which prompted comparisons with Trump. 

A fundraising email - sent out with his signature last night - disparages the media in what could be called a Trumpian fashion. 

The email states: "With endless wall to wall coverage, the deep resources of government, and a favourable media, it is hard for anyone not to see Labour have the cards stacked in their favour."

The maligning of media is detrimental at a time when is mistrust is high and conspiracy theories have been running rife - not helped by Mr Brownlee's own musings.

Last week, he listed a series of supposedly interesting facts - as if to suggest the government wasn't telling the whole story. 

The party now clearly wanting to put that behind them. 

Tuesday was Parliament's first day back since the election's false-start - a chance for the Opposition to zero in the government's very real failings at the border.

Instead, again, it's been distracted by its own mis-steps.